Timberlake wrote 'Cry Me A River' after fight with Britney

It had long been rumored that the song detailed the breakdown of the couple's romance with the video even featuring a girl bearing a striking resemblance to Spears.

Although Timberlake had always denied the claims, but now his producer pal, Timbaland, has confirmed that the Toxic hitmaker was the inspiration for the track as it was made following a heated phone conversation between the young lovers.

In a new E! True Hollywood Story special about Timbaland, the super producer made the revelation, Contactmusic reported.

"He went to a concert and saw Britney, and Britney talked about him in the show and he was p**sed," he said.

Timberlake, who just stopped short of mentioning Spears by name in the song, explained that he had a phone conversation with Spears and Timbaland could tell that he was very angry.

"I was on a phone call that was not the most enjoyable phone call. I walked into the studio and he (Timbaland) could tell I was visibly angry."

The singer had poured out his feelings in the song, and the emotion reflected in his opening lyrics.

"I was like, 'Man, don't worry about it' and he was like, 'I can't believe she did that to me' and he was like, 'You were my sun, you were my earth...'" he recalled.

The former 'N Sync star had split from Spears that year, but the track went on to land Timberlake the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.